Chaelbs m



(No Model.)

- 0. M. KIMBALL.

PROCESS OFTREATING MOROOOO SKINS AND OTHER LEATHER.

Patented May 1', 1888.

WITH EEIEEI: 4&3

N PETERS. Fhnln-Lilhogmpher, Washington, D.c.

UNITED STATES PAT NT OFFICE.

CHARLES M. KIMBALL, OF HAVEREIILL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELFAND BENJAMIN MILTON KIMBALL, OF SAME PLACE.

PROCESS OF TREATING MOROCCO-SKINS AND OTHER LEATHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 381,933 dated May 1,1888.

Application filed December 28, 1887. Serial No. 259,234. (No model.)

To all whmn it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES M. KIMBALL, of Haverhill, in the county ofEssex, State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovementintheI-rocess ofTreating Morocco-Skins and other FinishedLeath er, of which the following is a description sufficiently full,clear, and exact to enable any person skilled in the art or science towhich said invention appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecification, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improveddie; Fig. 2, a sectional view showing certain details of construction;Fig. 8, an isometrical perspective view showing the skin on its passagethrough the die; Fig. 4, a reduced plan View of the skin before it isdrawn through the die, and Fig. 5 is a detail top view showing the meansof fastening the die in the standards. Like letters and figures ofreference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures of thedrawings.

My invention relates to means for breaking up or disintegrating thegrain of moroccoskins and other finished leather to meet therequirements of fashion and trade in that respect; and it gons ists incertain novel features, as hereinafter more full y set forth andclaimed, the object being to produce a better article and accomplish thework in a simpler, cheaper, and more effective manner than it is nowaccomplished by the ordinary methods.

The natureand operation of the improvement will be readily understood byall conversant with such matters from the following explanation.

In the drawings, A represents the die, and B the standard or support forthe same. The die is preferably composed of hard wood, but may be madeof metal or any other suitable material and of any suitable length,width, and thickness, the size of course corre sponding with the work tobe done. It may also be supported in any suitable manner. In theinstance shown the die is provided with a tenon, x, and shoulder m, thetenon being inserted in a horizontally arranged mortise formed in theUpper portion of a fixed standard, B, and secured by keys t andcross-pinsf. The die is provided with'a series of holes, 9 h 7r, whichpass transversely through it from side to side, the holes beingpreferably round and varying gradually in size, as shown in Fig. 1. Theymay, however, be oblong, square, or hexagonal, as shown in Fig. 2, or ofany other suitable shape or size to qualify the die for properlyperforming its functions, and one or more holes maybe used, inaccordance with the requirements of the work.

In carrying out my improvement the skin 0 is loosely folded or rolledtogether on the dotted line r and drawn through the large hole in thedie, after which it is folded successively on the lines '0 1 z, andagain drawn through said hole at each folding. After being drawn throughthe large hole It, as described, the skin is again folded in like mannerand drawn at each folding through the medium-size hole h, the processbeing concluded by again folding and drawing it through the small hole9.

If it is found that the grain has been sufficiently disintegrated orbroken up by drawing the skin through one of the holes, as described, itwill not be necessary to repeat the operation by drawing it through asmaller hole or holes.

It will be understood that the hole in the 'die through which the skinis drawn should be small enough to render the application ofconsiderable force necessary to pull the skin through-it, the strain onthe skin stretching it and the die crowding its folds together, therebyimparting to the grain a peculiar and very beautiful finish which cannotbe readily produced by any other means within my knowledge.

By folding the skin successively on the lines r oyz the grain will, inmost instances, be more thoroughly disintegrated than when folded on oneline only, although good results maybe obtained byfoldingitcontinuallyon the same line and repeatedly drawing it through the die. The outeredges or ends of the. hole are rounded or chamfered slightly to preventthem from catching and injuring the skin.

The skin may be drawn through the die alternately from the oppositesides thereof, in-

stead of being passed through from the same side at each folding, ifpreferred.

By folding the skin I do not mean that it is evenly folded or laid inplait-s, but merely crowded together at each side of the centralfolding-line to enable it to be inserted in and drawn through the die.

As I have made the mechanism used in putting the process into practicethe subjectmatter of another application for Letters Patent, filedDecember 28, 1887, Serial No.259,233, I do not claim the same, broadly,herein.

Having thus explained my invention, what I claim is- 1. The improvedprocess of treating morocco and other finished skins herein described,the same consisting, essentially, in forcibly drawing the skinsuccessively through two or more holes in a die, said holes being ofdifferent sizes, substantially as described.

2. That improvement in the art of treating morocco and other finishedskins which consists, essentially, in forcibly drawing the skin througha hole in a die until the grain is broken or disintegrated,substantially as specified.

3. That improvement in the art of treating morocco and other finishedskins which consists, essentially, in forcibly and repeatedly drawingthe skin through a hole in adie until the grain is broken ordisintegrated, the skin being turned or folded differently between thedrawings to present it in different positions to the die, substantiallyas described.

CHARLES M. KIMBALL.

Witnesses:

G. A. SHAW, O. M. SHAW.

